X-propagation in emulation using efficient memory

ABSTRACT

Embodiments relate to the emulation of circuits, and representation of unknown states of signals. A disclosed system (and method and computer program product) includes an emulation environment to convert a digital signal of a DUT in a form capable of representing an unknown state. In addition, the disclosed system converts digital logic circuits such as Boolean logic, flip flops, latches, and memory circuits to be operable with signals having unknown states. Thus, an unknown state of a signal is indicated and propagated through digital logic circuits represented in a disclosed semantic to enable prompt detection of improper operation of the DUT, for example, due to power shut down or inadequate initialization.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.14/602,580, filed Jan. 22, 2015, which is incorporated by reference inits entirety.

BACKGROUND

The disclosure generally relates to the emulation of circuits, and morespecifically to promptly identifying unpredictable behavior of a digitalsystem.

DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART

Emulators have been developed to assist circuit designers in designingand debugging highly complex integrated circuits. An emulator includesmultiple reconfigurable components, such as field programmable gatearrays (FPGAs) that together can imitate the operations of a designunder test (DUT). By using an emulator to imitate the operations of aDUT, designers can verify that a DUT complies with various designrequirements prior to a fabrication.

One aspect of emulation includes identifying functionality of a DUT. Inone approach, identifying functionality of a DUT involves emulating aDUT and analyzing signals from the emulated DUT to verify improper,uncertain or unknown operations. For example, in case of power shut downor improper initialization, registers or logic circuits in the DUT arenot properly terminated and states of those registers or logic circuitsbecome unknown. During the operation of the DUT, the unknown states maycause improper logic operations, and the results of the improper logicoperations may further affect other logic circuits to operateincorrectly throughout the DUT.

In a conventional approach, a digital signal is represented in a binarystate (e.g., high or low) and identifying improper or unknown operationsof the DUT involves performing emulation of the DUT until inappropriateor uncertain outcomes are detected at outputs of the DUT. In advancedprocesses (e.g., 22 nanometers (nm) and below), a DUT may includebillions of logic circuits and signals. As a result, identifying unknownoperations of a DUT may involve performing a large number of digitallogic operations until improper logic operations are propagated atoutputs because of unknown states, which may be a time consumingprocess. As a result, locating sources of unknown states and debuggingthem are inefficient.

Therefore, there is a need for an approach for identifying uncertaintiesof the operation of the DUT in a time efficient manner in terms ofemulation cycles performed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

The disclosed embodiments have other advantages and features which willbe more readily apparent from the detailed description, the appendedclaims, and the accompanying figures (or drawings). A brief introductionof the figures is below.

Figure (FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an emulation environment, accordingto one embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a host system, according to oneembodiment.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a semantic conversion module, according toone embodiment.

FIG. 4A is an example conversion of a signal implemented on theemulator, according to one semantic representation.

FIG. 4B is another example conversion of a signal implemented on theemulator, according to another semantic representation.

FIG. 5 is an example conversion of a Boolean logic circuit, according toone embodiment.

FIG. 6A is an example conversion of a flip flop, according to oneembodiment.

FIG. 6B is an example conversion of a latch, according to oneembodiment.

FIG. 7 is an example conversion of a memory circuit, according to oneembodiment.

FIG. 8 is a flow chart illustrating the host system preparing, foremulation, a device under test (DUT) converted to represent an unknownstate of a digital signal, according to one embodiment.

FIG. 9 illustrates conversions performed on the DUT, according to oneembodiment.

FIG. 10 is a flow chart illustrating the emulator performing digitallogic operations to identify an unknown operation of the DUT based onsignal states, according to one embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a flow chart illustrating an operation of a flip flop or alatch based on a speculative condition and a concrete condition of areference signal, according to one embodiment.

FIG. 12A is a flow chart illustrating a memory write operation performedby the emulator, according to one embodiment.

FIG. 12B is a flow chart illustrating a memory read operation performedby the emulator, according to one embodiment.

FIG. 13 illustrates one embodiment of components of an example machineable to read instructions from a machine-readable medium and executethem in a processor (or controller).

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The Figures (FIGS.) and the following description relate to preferredembodiments by way of illustration only. It should be noted that fromthe following discussion, alternative embodiments of the structures andmethods disclosed herein will be readily recognized as viablealternatives that may be employed without departing from the principlesof what is claimed.

Reference will now be made in detail to several embodiments, examples ofwhich are illustrated in the accompanying figures. The figures depictembodiments of the disclosed system (or method) for purposes ofillustration only. It should be recognized from the followingdescription that alternative embodiments of the structures and methodsillustrated herein may be employed without departing from the principlesdescribed herein.

Configuration Overview

A disclosed system (and method and computer program product) includes anemulation environment capable of indicating an unknown state of a signaland performing digital logic operations accordingly for improving thespeed and performance of identifying improper or unknown operations of aDUT. In the disclosed system (and method and computer program product),an unknown state of a signal is indicated and propagated through digitallogic circuits represented in a disclosed semantic to enable promptidentification of improper operation of the DUT, for example, due topower shut down or inadequate initialization.

An improper or unknown operation of a DUT herein refers to an operationof the DUT that renders an output of the DUT to become unknown orincorrect compared to its expected output, due to any signal of the DUThaving an unknown state.

One embodiment of the emulation environment includes a host system andan emulator. The host system configures the emulator to load a designunder test (DUT), and the emulator emulates the DUT accordingly. Thehost system converts a DUT or a portion of the DUT according toconversion rules to enable representation of an unknown state of asignal of the DUT and propagation of the unknown state. Signals andlogic circuits (combinational and sequential circuits) in a DUT areconverted such that uncertainty of input signals can be carried ontooutput of the logic circuits. In one embodiment, a conversion of signalsand logic circuits is performed at a register transfer language (RTL)level. Alternatively, a conversion of signals and logic circuits may beperformed at a gate/transistor level or any other level.

In one approach, the host system converts a single bit of a digitalsignal of a DUT represented in a two state semantic into at least twobits in a three or four state semantic (herein referred to as “fourstate semantic”) to enable representation of an unknown state. In oneimplementation, a first bit indicates a possible low state or a possiblehigh state of a signal, and a second bit indicates whether the state ofthe signal is known or unknown. In another implementation, a first bitindicates a possible high state and a second bit indicates a possiblelow state. In both implementations, a combination of at least two bitsenables representation of an unknown state of a signal.

In addition, the host system converts Boolean logic operators accordingto conversion rules to determine outputs of the converted Boolean logicoperators and uncertainties of the outputs based on input signalsrepresented in the four state semantic. When a state of an input signalin the four state semantic is unknown, a state of an output of aconverted Boolean logic operator and a certainty of the state of theoutput are determined based on a known state (e.g., high or low) ofanother input signal. Therefore, unknown states are propagated promptlythrough the converted Boolean logic operators.

Moreover, the host system converts edge operators (e.g., flip flop)according to conversion rules to enable operation of the edge operatorswith a speculative transition including a transition in the state of areference signal from an unknown state or to the unknown staterepresented in the four state semantic. A speculative transition hereinrefers to a transition in a reference signal that may have triggered anoperation of a flip flop because of an uncertainty of the state in thereference signal. For example, for a rising edge triggered flip flop, aspeculative transition occurs when the reference signal transitions froma low state to an unknown state, or from an unknown state to a highstate. The converted flip flop generates an output signal based on aconcrete transition (i.e., not speculative) or a speculative transitionof a reference signal.

Additionally, the host system converts latches according to conversionrules to enable operations of the latches with a reference signal havingan unknown state represented in the four state semantic. The convertedlatch generates an output signal based on a reference signal having aconcrete state (i.e., known state) or an unknown state.

Furthermore, the host system converts a memory circuit according toconversion rules to perform read and write operations based on anambiguous address signal. The ambiguous address signal includes at leastone bit having an unknown state. The bit having the unknown state may berepresented with two or more bits after a conversion with the disclosedsemantic. In one aspect, the converted memory circuit implements memoryindicators, where each memory indicator is associated with itscorresponding content and its corresponding address indicated by anaddress signal. A memory indicator indicates an uncertainty of acorresponding content associated with the memory indicator.

Example Emulation Environment

Figure (FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an emulation environment100, according to one embodiment. The emulation environment 100 includesa host system 110 and an emulator 120. The host system 110 communicateswith the emulator 120 through an interface 115.

The host system 110 configures the emulator 120 for emulating a DUT andcommunicates with the emulator 120 during emulation of the DUT. A DUT isone or more circuit designs that are to be emulated by the emulator 120.The host system 110 may be a single computer or a collection of multiplecomputers.

In one embodiment, the host system 110 receives from a user adescription of a DUT to be emulated. The description of the DUT is in atype of hardware description language (HDL), for example, registertransfer language (RTL). The host system 110 converts the DUT or aportion of the DUT to enable representing an unknown state of a signalof the DUT. Preferably, the host system 110 converts signals in aconventional two state semantic into a four state semantic to representan unknown state of the signal of the DUT. In addition, the host system110 converts digital logic circuits including, but are not limited to,Boolean logic operators, flip flops, latches, and memory circuits toenable operation with signals represented in the four state semantic.

The host system 110 creates a gate level netlist based on the HDLdescription of the converted DUT according to the four state semantic.The host system 110 uses the gate level netlist to partition theconverted DUT and maps each partition to one or more logic circuitsincluded in the emulator 120. The host system 110 transmits a gate leveldescription of the converted DUT in one or more bit streams to theemulator 120 through the interface 115. The bit streams may includerepresentations of the gate level logic of the converted DUT,partitioning information, mapping information, and design constraintsfor configuring the emulator 120.

In an alternative embodiment, the host system 110 transmits the HDLdescription of the converted DUT according to the four state semantic tothe emulator 120 through the interface 115.

In another alternative embodiment, the host system 110 receives from auser a description of a DUT in gate level logic. In addition, the hostsystem 110 converts the DUT or a portion of the DUT in the gate levellogic according to the four state semantic to enable representation ofan unknown state of a signal of the DUT. Similarly, the host system 110transmits bit streams including representations of the gate level logicof the converted DUT to the emulator 120.

In one approach, a portion of the DUT is predefined in a block/IP levelhardware component. Alternatively, a user is able to select a portion ofthe DUT to be converted into the four state semantic. In addition, aportion of the DUT may be represented in both two state semantic andfour state semantic to emulate both in parallel for faithfullypreserving the desired behavior.

Additionally, during emulation of the DUT by the emulator 120, the hostsystem 110 receives emulation results from the emulator 120 through theinterface 115. Emulation results are information transmitted by theemulator 120 based on the emulation of the DUT. The emulation resultsinclude information describing the states of multiple signals in the DUTduring the emulation. For example, the emulator 120 transmits theemulation results in the four state semantic, and the host system 110converts the emulation results from the emulator 120 into the two statesemantic. In another example, the emulator 120 converts the emulationresults in the four state semantic into the two state semantic prior tothe transmission to the host system 110.

The emulator 120 is a hardware system that emulates DUTs. The emulator120 includes multiple configurable logic circuits that together canemulate a DUT. In one embodiment, the logic circuits included in theemulator 120 are field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs).

For a DUT that is to be emulated, the emulator 120 receives from thehost system 110 one or more bit streams including a gate leveldescription of the converted DUT according to the four state semantic torepresent unknown states of signals in the DUT. The bit streams furtherdescribe partitions of the DUT created by the host system 110, mappingsof the partitions to the FPGAs of the emulator 120, and designconstraints. In an alternative embodiment, the emulator 120 receives bitstreams including HDL level description of the converted DUT. Based onthe bit streams, the emulator 120 configures the FPGAs to perform thefunctions of the DUT.

The emulator 120 emulates the converted DUT according to the four statesemantic to represent unknown states of signals in the DUT. Based on theemulation, the emulator 120 generates emulation results, which aretransmitted to the host system 110 for analysis.

The interface 115 is a communication medium that allows communicationbetween the host system 110 and the emulator 120. In one embodiment, theinterface 115 is a cable with electrical connections. For example, theinterface 115 may be an RS232, USB, LAN, optical, or a custom builtcable. In other embodiment, the interface 115 is a wirelesscommunication medium or a network. For example, the interface 115 may bea wireless communication medium employing a Bluetooth® or IEEE 802.11protocol.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating the host system 110 in moredetail, according to one embodiment. The host system 110 includes adesign compiler 210, FPGA mapping module 220, run time module 230,semantic conversion module 240, and storage 250. Each of thesecomponents may be embodied as hardware, software, firmware, or acombination thereof. Together these components provide designs toconfigure the emulator 120 and monitor the emulation results based onunknown states of signals.

In one embodiment, the design compiler 210 converts HDL of DUTs intogate level logic. For a DUT that is to be emulated, the design compiler210 receives a description of the DUT in HDL (e.g., RTL or other levelof abstraction). The design compiler 210 synthesizes the HDL of the DUTto create a gate level netlist with a description of the DUT in terms ofgate level logic.

The mapping module 220 partitions DUTs and maps partitions to emulatorcomponents. After the design compiler 210 creates a gate level netlist,the mapping module 220 partitions the DUT at the gate level into anumber of partitions using the netlist. The mapping module 220 maps eachpartition to one or more FPGAs of the emulator 120. The mapping module220 performs the partitioning and mapping using design rules, designconstraints (e.g., timing or logic constraints), and information aboutthe emulator 120. For each partition, the mapping module 220 generates abit stream describing the logic circuits included in the partition andthe mapping to one or more FPGAs of the emulator 120. The bit streamsmay also include information about connections between components andother design information. The mapping module 220 transmits the bitstreams to the emulator 120, so that the FPGAs of the emulator 120 canbe configured for emulating the DUT.

The run time module 230 controls emulations performed on the emulator120. The run time module 230 may cause the emulator 120 to start or stopexecuting the emulations. Additionally, the run time module 230 mayprovide input signals/data to the emulator 120. The input signals may beprovided directly to the emulator 120 through the interface 115 orindirectly through other input signal devices. For example, the hostsystem 110 with the run time module 230 may control an input signaldevice such as a test board, a signal generator, or a power supply, toprovide the input signals to the emulator 120.

In one embodiment, the run time module 230 may receive emulation resultsfrom the emulator 120. In one implementation, the run time module 230receives emulation results in the two state semantic and/or the fourstate semantic. The run time module 230 may also convert the receivedemulation results into the four state semantic or the two statesemantic.

The storage 250 is a repository for saving information used to configurethe emulator 120 to load a DUT, or information on the emulation of theDUT performed on the emulator 120. The storage 250 contains, a DUT or aportion of the DUT in at least one of HDL and netlist descriptions,represented in the two state semantic and/or the four state semantic. Inaddition, the storage 250 contains design rules, design constraints(e.g., timing or logic constraints), and information about the emulator120 to be used by the mapping module 220 for mapping, and a bit streamgenerated from the mapping. Moreover, the storage 250 containsconversion rules to be used by the semantic conversion module 240.Additionally, the storage 250 stores emulation results received from theemulator 120.

The semantic conversion module 240 converts a DUT according toconversion rules to represent unknown states of signals of the DUT. Thesemantic conversion module 240 performs conversions of signals to enablerepresentation of unknown states. Additionally, the semantic conversionmodule 240 converts logic circuits including, but are not limited to,Boolean logic operators, flip flops, latches, and memory circuits to beoperable with the representations of unknown states of signals, asdescribed in detail with respect to FIGS. 4 through 7. The semanticconversion may be performed on the entire DUT or a portion of the DUTaccording to conversion rules.

Referring to FIG. 3, illustrated is a detailed block diagram of thesemantic conversion module 240, according to one embodiment. In oneembodiment, the semantic conversion module 240 includes a signalconversion module 310, Boolean logic conversion module 320, flip flopconversion module 330, latch conversion module 335, and memory circuitconversion module 340. The signal conversion module 310 converts signalsof a DUT in a format capable of representing unknown states. Inaddition, the Boolean logic conversion module 320 converts Boolean logiccircuits of the DUT to enable logic operations with signals havingunknown states. Additionally, the flip flop conversion module 330converts flip flops of the DUT to enable operations of the flip flopsbased on speculative transitions of reference signals due to unknownstates of the reference signals. Furthermore, the latch conversionmodule 335 converts latches of the DUT to enable latch operations withreference signals having unknown states. Moreover, the memory circuitconversion module 340 converts memory circuits of the DUT to be operablebased on ambiguous address signals including at least one bit with anunknown state. Together, these components covert the DUT or a portion ofthe DUT into the four state semantic to enable representations ofunknown states of signals and propagation of the unknown states.

The signal conversion module 310 converts a digital signal of a DUTrepresented in a two state semantic to enable a representation of anunknown state of a signal. A signal is represented in one or more bits.A single bit is represented by an output of a register or another logiccircuit. Each bit has a binary state such as a high state (herein alsoreferred to as logic 1, VDD, and TRUE) and a low state (herein referredto as logic 0, GND, and FALSE). The signal conversion module 310implements at least two bits for representing one bit in the two statesemantic to represent an unknown state (herein also referred to as logicX, unclear, and uncertain). Preferably, the signal conversion module 310implements two bits for representing an unknown state of a one bit of asignal in two state semantic. In one approach, the semantic conversionis achieved by using basic circuits or logic blocks used in two statesemantic as described in detail with respect to FIGS. 4 through 7.

In FIG. 4A, one example embodiment of a signal conversion 400A performedby the signal conversion module 310 is illustrated. In this example, asignal 410 is represented in a single bit using a register 405 in thetwo state semantic. According to the signal conversion 400A, anadditional bit using an additional register is implemented to representthe signal 410 in a four state semantic. In one aspect, a first register405A is implemented to represent a bit signal_bin 410A for indicating apossible low state or a possible high state of the signal 410. Inaddition, a second register 405B is implemented to represent a bitsignal_X 410B for indicating whether the state of the signal is known orunknown. In this four state semantic, when the bit signal_X 410B is in alow state (e.g., the state of the signal 410 is known), the state of thesignal 410 is as indicated by the bit signal_bin 410A. In case the bitsignal_X 410B is in a high state (e.g., the state of the signal 410 isunknown), the signal 410 is represented to have an unknown state. Thesignal conversion 400A can be implemented according to an exampleVerilog code below.

Table 1 shows one approach in a signal conversion, as explained withrespect to FIG. 4A.

Convention 1 r===1′bX iff r_X==1; (r_bin is don't care in this case)r===1′b0 iff r_X==0 and r_bin==0; r===1′b1 iff r_X==0 and r_bin==1;

In FIG. 4B, another example embodiment of a signal conversion 400Bperformed by the signal conversion module 310 is illustrated. Accordingto the signal conversion 400B, an additional bit using an additionalregister is implemented to represent the signal 410 in a four statesemantic. In this approach, a first register 405C is implemented torepresent a bit signal_high_possible 410C for indicating a possible highstate of the signal 410. In addition, a second register 405D isimplemented to represent a bit signal_low_possible 410D for indicating apossible low state of the signal 410. In this four state semantic, whenboth bits the signal_high_possible 410C and the signal_low_possible 410Dare in high states, the signal 410 is represented to have an unknownstate. When the bit signal_high_possible 410C is in a high state and thebit signal_low_possible 410D is in a low state, the signal 410 isrepresented to have a high state. Similarly, when the bitsignal_high_possible 410C is in a low state and the bitsignal_low_possible 410D is in a high state, the signal 410 isrepresented to have a low state. When both bits the signal_high_possible410C and the signal_low_possible 410D are in low states, the signal 410may be represented to have an unknown state, or an unassigned state(i.e., does not affect the logic operation). The signal conversion 400Bcan be implemented according to an example Verilog code below.

Table 2 shows another approach in a signal conversion, as explained withrespect to FIG. 4B.

Convention 2 r===1′bX iff r_1_possible==1 and r_0_possible ==1; r===1′b0iff r_1_possible==0 and r_0_possible ==1; r===1′b1 iff r_1_possible==1and r_0_possible ==0;

In FIG. 5, an example embodiment of a Boolean logic conversion 500performed by the Boolean logic conversion module 320 is illustrated. TheBoolean logic conversion module 320 converts Boolean logic operatorsaccording to conversion rules to determine outputs of the convertedBoolean logic operators and uncertainties of the outputs based on inputsignals having unknown states.

As an example illustrated in FIG. 5, the Boolean logic conversion 500transforms Boolean logic operator 505A into converted Boolean logicoperator 505B for performing logic operations with signals havingunknown states. In this example, the Boolean logic operator 505A in twostate semantic performs Boolean logic operation based on input signals510 and 520 to generate an output signal 530, where each signal isrepresented in a single bit. The Boolean logic conversion 500 isperformed such that the Boolean logic operator 505B receives inputsignals 510 and 520, and generates an output signal 530 in any one ofthe four state semantics as explained with respect to FIGS. 4A and 4B.According to any one of the signal conversions 400A and 400B (hereinreferred to as a signal conversion 400), the input signal 510 isrepresented with input bits 510A, 510B, the input signal 520 isrepresented with input bits 520A, 520B, and the output signal 530 isrepresented with output bits 530A, 530B. For simplicity, the Booleanlogic conversion 500 in FIG. 5 is performed on a Boolean logic operator505A with two input signals 510 and 520. However, the Boolean logicconversion 500 may be performed on other logic circuits with more thantwo input signals to determine a state of one or more output signals anduncertainty of the one or more output signals.

The Boolean logic operator 505B determines a state of the output signal530 and uncertainty of the state of the output signal 530 based onstates of the input signals 510 and 520. For example, in case theBoolean Logic operator 505A is AND or NAND logic and a state of theinput signal 510 is unknown, the output signal 530 is determined to beunknown responsive to the input signal 520 having a high state. Inanother example, in case the Boolean logic operator 505A is OR or NORlogic and a state of the input signal 510 is unknown, the output signal530 is determined to be unknown responsive to the input signal 520having a low state. In another example, in case the Boolean logicoperator 505A is XOR, XNOR, XAND, or XNAND logic, the output signal 530is determined to be unknown responsive to any one of the input signals510 and 520 having an unknown state. In this manner, unknown states maybe propagated through the converted Boolean logic operators 505B. Anexample Boolean logic conversion 500 of AND logic can be implementedaccording to example Verilog codes below.

Table 3 shows example conversions of AND logic, according to four statesemantics.

Convention 1 for a = b & c a_bin = b_bin & c_bin; a_x = (b_x & c_x) |(b_x & a_bin) | (c_x & b_bin) = b_x & (c_x | a_bin) | (c_x & b_bin);Convention 2 for a = b & c a_1_possible = b_1_possible & c_1_possible;a_0_possible = b_0_possible | c_0_possible;

In FIG. 6A, an example embodiment of a flip flop conversion 600performed by the flip flop conversion module 330 is illustrated. A flipflop 605A in two state semantic generates an output signal 630 based ona rising edge or a falling edge of a reference signal 620 and an inputsignal 610 received prior to the transition of the state in thereference signal 620, where each signal is represented in a single bit.The flip flop conversion module 330 converts the flip flop 605Aaccording to conversion rules such that a converted flip flop 605B isoperable with signals having unknown states as well as a speculativetransition in the reference signal 620.

The flip flop conversion 600 is performed such that the flip flop 605Breceives an input signal 610 and the reference signal 620, and generatesan output signal 630 in any one of the four state semantics as explainedwith respect to FIGS. 4A and 4B. According to a signal conversion 400,the input signal 610 is represented with input bits 610A, 610B, thereference signal 620 is represented with reference bits 620A, 620B, andthe output signal 630 is represented with output bits 630A, 630B.

With signals converted to represent unknown states, the reference signal620 may transition from an unknown state or to the unknown state,thereby causing a speculative transition with a rising edge or a fallingedge. As an example, for a rising edge triggering flip flop 605B, aspeculative transition may occur for a transition of the referencesignal 620 from a low state to an unknown state (i.e., [0X]), or from anunknown state to a high state (i.e., [X1]). Similarly, for a fallingedge triggering flip flop 605B, a speculative transition may occur for atransition of the reference signal 620 from a high state to an unknownstate (i.e., [1X]) or from an unknown state to a low state (i.e., [X0]).

In one aspect, for a positive edge triggering flip flop 605B, theconverted flip flop 605B implements a transition state bit 650 using anoutput of a register or a logic circuit for determining a speculativetransition of the reference signal 620 from a low state to an unknownstate. In case signals are converted according to the signal conversion400A of FIG. 4A, the transition state bit 650 is obtained by performingAND operation on the reference bit 620A corresponding to referencesignal_bin indicating a possible low state of the reference signal 620and the reference bit 620B corresponding to reference signal_Xindicating the state of the reference signal 620 is known. (e.g.,transition state bit=(!reference signal_bin) & (!referencesignal_X)=!(reference signal_bin | reference signal_X)). In case thereference signal 620 transitions from a low state to an unknown state(i.e., reference signal_X becomes high, when the transition state bit650 was a high state), a state of the transition state bit 650transitions to a low state. Hence, detecting a falling edge of thetransition state bit 650 followed by the reference signal 620 in anunknown state, enables detecting a transition of the reference signal620 from a low state to an unknown state.

For the positive edge triggering flip flop 605B, another speculativetransition of the reference signal 620 may occur because of thereference signal 620 transitioning from an unknown state to a high state(i.e., [X1]). In one approach, determining the transition of thereference signal 620 from the unknown state to the high state isachieved by detecting a falling edge of reference signal_X, followed byreference signal_bin in a high state.

Once a speculative transition of the reference signal 620 is detected,the flip flop 605B may update a state of the output signal 630. In oneaspect, responsive to detecting a speculative transition, uncertaintycan be carried over onto the output signal 630. In case of a speculativetransition, a current state of the output signal 630 is determined basedon a state of the input signal 610 and a state of the output signal 630prior to the speculative transition.

In one approach, a current state of the output signal 630 can bedetermined to be a combination of a state of the input signal 610 and astate of the output signal 630 prior to the speculative transition(e.g., {q}<=merge_emul(q, d) or {q_bin, q_x}<=merge_emul(q_bin, q_x,d_bin, d_x), where q is an output of the flip flop and d is an input ofthe flip flop). For example, if the input signal 610 of the flip flop605B and the output signal 630 of the flip flop 605B prior to thespeculative transition are in the same state, then the output signal 630of the flip flop 605B is maintained after the speculative transition.Hence, the speculative transition of the reference signal 620 does notaffect the output signal 630, when the input signal 610 and the outputsignal 630 prior to the speculative transition are in the same state. Ifthe input signal 610 and the output signal 630 of the flip flop 605Bprior to the speculative transition are in different states, then theoutput signal 630 of the flip flop 605B becomes unknown.

In addition to speculative transitions, the flip flop 605B operatesbased on a concrete transition of the reference signal 620. In oneaspect, for a positive edge triggering flip flop 605B, determining aconcrete transition of the reference signal 620 is based on thetransition state bit 650. For example, a positive edge of the referencesignal 620 is determined by detecting a falling edge of the transitionstate bit 650 followed by the reference signal 620 in a known state(e.g., high state) enables detection of a transition of the referencesignal 620 from a low state to a high state (i.e., [01]).

One embodiment of the flip flop conversion 600 can be implementedaccording to an example Verilog code below.

Table 4 shows an example conversion of a flip flop, according to one offour state semantics.

Convention 1 for always @(posedge c) q <= d; assign c_is_0 = (c_bin==0)& (c_x==0) always @(negedge c_is_0 iff (c_x==1) or negedge c_xiff(c_bin==1)) begin  { q_bin, q_x } <= merge_emul(q_bin, q_x, d_bin,d_x); end always @(negedge c_is_0 iff(c_x==0)) begin q_bin <= d_bin; q_x<= d_x; end

In FIG. 6B, an example embodiment of a latch conversion 660 performed bythe latch conversion module 335 is illustrated. A latch 665A in twostate semantic generates an output signal 630 based on a state of areference signal 620, where each signal is represented in a single bit.The latch conversion module 335 converts the latch 665A according toconversion rules such that a converted latch 665B is operable withsignals having unknown states.

The latch conversion 660 is performed such that the latch 665B receivesan input signal 610 and the reference signal 620, and generates anoutput signal 630 in any one of the four state semantics as explainedwith respect to FIGS. 4A and 4B. According to a signal conversion 400,the input signal 610 is represented with input bits 610A, 610B, thereference signal 620 is represented with reference bits 620A, 620B, andthe output signal 630 is represented with output bits 630A, 630B. Theoperation of the latch 665B is similar to the flip flop 605B, except thelatch 665B operates based on a state of the reference signal 620 ratherthan a transition in state of the reference signal 620, and transitionstate bit may not be implemented.

If a state of the reference signal 620 is unknown, the latch 665B mayupdate a state of the output signal 630. In one aspect, responsive todetecting the reference signal 620 having an unknown state, uncertaintycan be carried over onto the output signal 630. In case the referencesignal 620 or the input signal 610 has an evaluation state (e.g.,possible high state), the latch 665B performs evaluation. The output ofthe latch 665B can be continuously or discretely evaluated, when thereference signal 620 or the input signal 610 has an evaluation state. Incase the state of the reference signal 620 is unknown during evaluation,a current state of the output signal 630 may be determined based on astate of the input signal 610 and a state of the output signal 630received prior to an evaluation.

In one approach, the output signal 630 can be determined to be acombination of a state of the input signal 610 and a state of the outputsignal 630 prior to the evaluation (e.g., {q} <=merge_emul(q, d) or{q_bin, q_x}<=merge_emul(q_bin, q_x, d_bin, d_x), where q is an outputof the latch and d is an input of the latch). For example, if the inputsignal 610 and the output signal 630 of the latch 665B prior to theevaluation are in the same state, then the output signal 630 of thelatch 665B is maintained. Hence, the reference signal 620 having anunknown state does not affect the output signal 630, when the inputsignal 610 and the output signal 630 prior to the evaluation are in thesame state. If the input signal 610 and the output signal 630 of thelatch 665B prior to the evaluation are in different states, then theoutput signal 630 of the latch 665B becomes unknown.

The latch 665B also operates based on a concrete state of the referencesignal 620. For example, responsive to detecting an evaluation state ofthe reference signal 620, an output signal 630 is updated according toan input signal 610 when the reference signal 620 is in the evaluationstate.

One embodiment of the latch conversion 660 can be implemented accordingto an example Verilog code below.

Table 5 shows an example conversion of a latch, according to one of fourstate semantic.

Convention 1 for always @(c or d) if (c) q <= d; always @(c or d) beginif (c === 1′bx) q <= merge (q, d); else if (c === 1′b1) q <= d; end

In FIG. 7, an example embodiment of a memory circuit conversion 700performed by the memory circuit conversion module 340 is illustrated.The memory circuit 705A in two state semantic performs read and writeoperations based on an address signal 710 and a control signal 730. Forthe write operation, an input signal 720 is stored in the memory circuit705A, and for the read operation, an output signal 770 is generatedbased on contents stored in the memory circuit 705A. The memory circuitconversion module 340 converts the memory circuit 705A according toconversion rules such that a converted memory circuit 705B is operablewith signals having unknown states as well as an ambiguous addresssignal 710.

The memory circuit 705A in two state semantic includes contents 760(0),760(1) . . . 760(N) (generally herein referred to as a content 760) forstoring the input signal 720 received. Each content 760 is associatedwith a corresponding address 740 from addresses 740(0), 740(1) . . .740(N) (generally herein referred to as an address 740). The controlsignal 730 indicates whether to perform a read operation or writeoperation. For the write operation, the input signal 720 is stored in acontent 760 associated with a corresponding address 740 indicated by theaddress signal 710. For the read operation, the output signal 770 isgenerated based on a content 760 associated with a corresponding address740 indicated by the address signal 710.

In one implementation, the memory circuit conversion 700 transforms thememory circuit 705A into a converted memory circuit 705B to be operablewith signals having unknown states. The memory circuit conversion 700 isperformed such that the memory circuit 705B receives the address signal710, input signal 720, and control signal 730, and generates an outputsignal 770 in any one of the four state semantics as explained withrespect to FIGS. 4A and 4B. In one aspect, each signal is represented inone or more bits. According to a signal conversion 400, each bit in theaddress signal 710 is represented with address bits 710A, 710B, each bitin the input signal 720 is represented with input bits 720A, 720B, eachbit in the control signal 730 is represented with control bits 730A,730B, and each bit in the output signal 770 is represented with outputbits 770A, 770B.

With signals converted to represent unknown states, the address signal710 may become ambiguous. Preferably, the address signal 710 isrepresented in multiple bits. When at least one of the bits is unknown,the address signal 710 becomes ambiguous. For example, in case theaddress signal 710 is represented in three bits and contains an unknownstate [1X1], the address signal 710 may be referring to address [101] or[111], rendering contents 760 associated with the ambiguous addresssignal 710 to be unknown.

In one aspect, the converted memory circuit 705B implements memoryindicators 750(0), 750(1) . . . 750(N) (generally herein referred to asa memory indicator 750) to indicate a content 760 associated with acorresponding address 740 is unknown. Each memory indicator 750 isassociated with a corresponding address 740 and corresponding content760. Preferably, each memory indicator 750 is implemented in a singlebit.

For performing the write operation, when the address signal 710 isambiguous, the memory circuit 705B identifies two or more candidateaddresses 740 according to the address signal 710. Memory indicators 750associated with the candidate addresses 740 indicated by the addresssignal 710 are activated (e.g., set to high states) to representcorresponding contents 760 associated with the memory indicators 750 areunknown. Preferably, storing the input signal 720 in the correspondingcontents 760 associated with the memory indicators 750 is omitted (orbypassed). For example, an address signal 710 may be ambiguous with[1X1], and the memory circuit 705B identifies [101] and [111] ascandidate addresses. In addition, the memory circuit 705B activatesmemory indicators 750 associated with the candidate addressescorresponding to and [111] to indicate contents associated with thecandidate addresses [101] and [111] are unknown.

In case the address signal 710 is concrete (i.e., not ambiguous) and theinput signal 720 is unknown, a memory indicator 750 associated with theaddress 740 indicated by the address signal 710 is activated. Similarly,storing the input signal 720 with the unknown state in the correspondingcontent 760 associated with the memory indicator 750 may be omitted (orbypassed).

For performing the read operation, when the address signal 710 isambiguous, in one embodiment, the memory circuit 705B generates theoutput signal 770 with an unknown state, and bypasses reading anycontent 760. In one implementation, the memory circuit 705B identifiestwo or more candidate addresses 740 according to the address signal 710.In another implementation, the memory circuit 705B omits identifyingcandidate addresses 740 according to the address signal 710.

In addition for performing the read operation, in case the addresssignal 710 is concrete (i.e., not ambiguous) and a memory indicator 750associated with a corresponding address 740 indicated by the addresssignal 710 is activated, the memory circuit 705B generates the outputsignal 770 with an unknown state, and bypasses reading any content 760.

The memory circuit 705B also performs read and write operations withsignals in known states. For the write operation, the memory circuit705B stores the input signal 720 in a content 760 associated with acorresponding address 740 indicated by the address signal 710. For theread operation, the memory circuit 705B generates the output signal 770based on a content 760 associated with a corresponding address 740indicated by the address signal 710.

By indicating a certainty of a content 760 associated with a memoryindicator 750 in a single bit, read and write operations speed can beimproved. Preferably, a content 760 includes multiple bits in the memorycircuit 705B, hence performing read and write operations may beaccompanied with high latencies. As a result, eschewing the actual readand write operations for an ambiguous address signal 710 or an ambiguousinput signal 720 allows faster read and write operations of the memorycircuit 705B.

In one aspect, all memory indicators 750 are activated during aninitialization of the memory circuit 705B to indicate all contents 760stored are unknown. Therefore, without a concrete memory assignment(i.e., a write operation with a concrete address signal 710 and a knowninput signal 720), one or more memory indicators 750 remain activated.Preferably, after a concrete memory assignment, the memory indicator 750is deactivated (e.g., set to a low state). As a result, uninitializedmemory address can be easily identified to promote a rigorous designpractice.

Beneficially, initializing signals according the four state semantic canrepresent family of unknown values instead of a specific singleassignment. Thus, an unknown operation of the DUT can be exposed, whilea random initialization approach exercising a particular valueassignment may not lead to a problem manifestation.

Representing an unknown state of a signal and propagating the unknownstate can achieve speed improvement in identifying improper or unknownoperations of a DUT, for example, due to power shut down or improperinitialization. With billions of logic circuits implemented in a recentprocess (e.g., 22 nm and below), identifying improper or unknownoperations of a DUT in the two state semantic may be achieved in 1million emulated cycles. In contrast, with a capability to represent anunknown state of a signal in the four state semantic and propagating theunknown state, identifying improper or unknown operations of a DUT canbe achieved within 1000 emulated cycles.

Additionally, a DUT in the four state semantic can be implemented withconventional digital circuit blocks without employing a customizedanalog/mixed signal circuitries (e.g., a tri-state buffer). As a result,conversion of the DUT can be achieved at a relatively low cost.Furthermore, a portion of the DUT may be implemented in the four statelogic, when another portion of the DUT is implemented in the two statelogic seamlessly.

In addition, IP/block level hardware components of a DUT causing failuremay be identified. Because a portion of a DUT may be converted into thefour state semantic, predefined IP/block level components or regions orlogic circuits selected by a user can be further examined to isolateroot cause of a problem far more rapidly in terms of number of emulatedcycles. Hence, hardware resources for implementing a portion of the DUTin the four state semantic remains at a reasonable level not tooverburden the emulator 120.

FIG. 8 is a flow chart illustrating the host system 110 preparing, foremulation, a device under test (DUT) converted to represent an unknownstate of a digital signal, according to one example embodiment. Otherembodiments can perform the steps of FIG. 8 in different orders.Moreover, other embodiments can include different and/or additionalsteps than the ones described here.

The host system 110 obtains 810 from a user a description of a DUT inHDL. The host system 110 converts 820 the DUT to represent an unknownstate of a signal. The host system 110 synthesizes 830 the HDLdescription of the converted DUT to create a gate level netlist. Inanother embodiment, instead of converting the DUT prior to synthesizing,the DUT is converted after synthesizing the HDL description of the DUT.

The host system 110 partitions 840 the DUT at the gate level into anumber of partitions using the gate level netlist. The host system 110maps 850 each partition to one or more FPGAs of the emulator 120.

In FIG. 9, conversions 820 of the DUT performed by the host system 110are illustrated. The host system 110 converts 910 a signal according toconversion rules in a form capable of representing an unknown state ofthe signal. In one aspect, the signal is converted into a four statesemantic by implementing at least two bits for each bit in the signal.In addition, the host system 110 converts 920 a Boolean logic operator505A according to conversion rules to determine output signals 530 ofthe converted Boolean logic operator 505B and uncertainties of theoutput signals 530 based on input signals 510 representing unknownstates. Additionally, the host system 110 converts 930 a flip flop 605Aaccording to conversion rules. The converted flip flop 605B is operablewith a speculative transition including a transition in a state of areference signal 620 from an unknown state or to the unknown state.Furthermore, the host system 110 converts 935 a latch 665A according toconversion rules. The converted latch 665B is operable with a referencesignal 620 having an unknown state. Moreover, the host system 110converts 940 a memory circuit 705A according to conversion rules. Theconverted memory circuit 705B is operable with an ambiguous addresssignal 710 or an ambiguous input signal 720 including at least one bithaving an unknown state.

In FIG. 10, illustrated is a flow chart for the emulator 120 performingdigital logic operations to identify an unknown operation of the DUTbased on signal states, according to one embodiment. Preferably, the DUTis converted by the host system 110 in a form capable of representing anunknown state of a signal in the DUT. Other embodiments can perform thesteps of FIG. 10 in different orders. Moreover, other embodiments caninclude different and/or additional steps than the ones described here.Furthermore, other embodiments may omit certain steps described here.

In the initialization step, signals in the DUT are initialized 1010 orset to unknown states. For example in the memory circuit 705B, memoryindicators 750 are activated to indicate contents 760 in the memorycircuit 705B are unknown. Additionally, states of other signals or logiccircuits may be initialized to unknown states. During the initializationstep or turning the DUT on after a power shut down, a subset of signalsor all signals of the DUT would be assigned to have unknown states.

The emulator 120 applies 1020 input signals with known states to theDUT. A portion of the input signals may have unknown states. Theemulator 120 performs 1030 digital logic operations based on the inputsignals, and determines 1040 signal states based on the digital logicoperations performed 1030. Results of the digital logic operations maybe used to perform additional digital logic operations, hence unknownstates may be propagated for improper or unknown operations of the DUT.The emulator 120 may continue 1050 emulation in another emulation cyclewith updated input signals for at least a predetermined number ofcycles.

For a properly designed DUT, the DUT is expected to recover from signalshaving unknown states, for example due to power shut down. Hence,outputs of the DUT are expected to have well-defined states after thepredetermined number of cycles. The predetermined number of cycles canbe obtained by a design choice or through simulations of the DUT. Afteremulating the DUT for at least the predetermined number of cycles, theoutput of the DUT is monitored, and an unknown operation of the DUT canbe determined 1060 based on the output signals.

Referring to FIG. 11, illustrated is a flow chart for the emulator 120operating a flip flop 605B or a latch 665B according to one embodiment.Preferably, the flip flop 605B or the latch 665B is converted by thehost system 110 in a form capable of representing an unknown state of asignal in the DUT. Thus, the flip flop 605B is operable with aspeculative transition in a reference signal 620 and the latch 665B isoperable with the reference signal 620 having an unknown state. Otherembodiments can perform the steps of FIG. 11 in different orders.Moreover, other embodiments can include different and/or additionalsteps than the ones described here. Furthermore, other embodiments mayomit certain steps described here.

The flip flop 605B or the latch 665B receives 1110 an input signal 610and a reference signal 620. In one approach, the input signal 610 andthe reference signal 620 are represented in a four state semantic.

The flip flop 605B or the latch 665B monitors 1120 for a speculativecondition. For the flip flop 605B, the speculative condition may be aspeculative transition in the reference signal 620. For the latch 665B,the speculative condition may be the reference signal 620 having anunknown state in case the reference signal 620 or the input signal 610having an evaluation state (e.g., possible high state). In one aspect,responsive to detecting the speculative condition, the flip flop 605B orthe latch 665B generates 1150 an output signal based on the input signal610 and the output signal 630 prior to the speculative condition. Thus,uncertainty can be carried over onto the output signal 630.

In addition, the flip flop 605B or the latch 665B monitors 1140 for aconcrete condition in the reference signal 620. For a positive edgetriggered flip flop 605B, the concrete condition may be the referencesignal 620 transitioning from a low state to a high state. For the latch665B, the concrete condition may be the reference signal 620 having anevaluation state (e.g., high state). For a flip flop 605B, if a concretecondition of the reference signal 620 is detected, the flip flop 605Bgenerates 1160 the output signal 630 based on the input signal 610 priorto the concrete transition of the reference signal 620. For a latch665B, if a concrete condition of the reference signal 620 is detected,the latch 665B generates 1160 the output signal 630 based on the inputsignal 610 received when the reference signal 620 has the concreteevaluation state.

If neither speculative condition nor a concrete condition of thereference signal 620 is detected, the flip flop 605B or the latch 665Bmaintains 1170 the output signal 630.

Referring to FIGS. 12A and 12B, illustrated is a flow chart for theemulator 120 operating a memory circuit 705B according to oneembodiment. Preferably, the memory circuit 705B is converted by the hostsystem 110 in a form capable of representing an unknown state of asignal in the DUT. Hence the memory circuit 705B is operable with anambiguous address signal 710. Other embodiments can perform the steps ofFIGS. 12A and 12B in different orders. Moreover, other embodiments caninclude different and/or additional steps than the ones described here.Furthermore, other embodiments may omit certain steps described here.

FIG. 12A illustrates the emulator 120 performing a write operation onthe memory circuit 705B, according to one embodiment. The memory circuit705B receives 1210 an input signal 720 and an address signal 710. Thememory circuit 705B determines 1220 whether the input signal 720 or theaddress signal 710 is ambiguous. Responsive to determining that theinput signal 720 and the address signal 710 are concrete, the memorycircuit 705B stores 1235 the input signal 720 in a content 760associated with the address 740 indicated by the address signal 710.Responsive to determining that at least one of the input signal 720 andthe address signal 710 is ambiguous, the memory circuit 705B indicates1230, with a memory indicator 750, the content 760 associated with theaddress 740 indicated by the address signal 710 is unknown. In oneexample, the memory circuit 705B identifies candidate addresses 740according to the address signal 710. In one approach, the memoryindicator 750 is activated to indicate the content 760 is unknown, andpreferably storing the input signal 720 in the content 760 is omitted.

FIG. 12B illustrates the emulator 120 performing a read operation on thememory circuit 705B, according to one embodiment. The memory circuit705B receives 1250 an address signal 710, and the memory circuit 705Bdetermines 1260 whether the address signal 710 is ambiguous. Responsiveto determining that the address signal 710 is ambiguous, the memorycircuit 705B generates 1290 an output signal 770 having an unknownstate. Preferably, actual of reading of the content 760 is omitted (orbypassed).

Responsive to determining that the address signal 710 is concrete, thememory circuit 705B determines 1270 whether content 760 associated withan address 740 indicated by the address signal 710 is unknown. In oneapproach, the memory circuit 705B examines a memory indicator 750associated with the content 760 and associated with the address 740 todetermine whether the content 760 is unknown. For example, if the memoryindicator 750 is activated, then the content 760 is determined to beunknown. Furthermore, responsive to determining that the content 760 isunknown, the memory circuit 705B generates 1290 the output signal 770having an unknown state. Preferably actual of reading of the content 760is omitted (or bypassed).

Responsive to determining that the content 760 is known, the memorycircuit 705B generates 1280 the output signal 770 based on the content760 associated with the address 740 indicated by the address signal 710.

Computing Machine Architecture

Turning now to FIG. 13, it is a block diagram illustrating components ofan example machine able to read instructions from a machine-readablemedium and execute them in a processor (or controller). Specifically,FIG. 13 shows a diagrammatic representation of a machine in the exampleform of a computer system 1300 within which instructions 1324 (e.g.,software or program code) for causing the machine to perform (execute)any one or more of the methodologies described with FIGS. 1-12. Thecomputer system 1300 may be used for one or more of the entities (e.g.,host system 110, emulator 120) illustrated in the emulation environment100 of FIG. 1.

The example computer system 1300 includes a hardware processor 1302(e.g., a central processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit(GPU), a digital signal processor (DSP), one or more applicationspecific integrated circuits (ASICs), one or more radio-frequencyintegrated circuits (RFICs), or any combination of these), a main memory1304, and a static memory 1306, which are configured to communicate witheach other via a bus 1308. The processor 1302 may include one or moreprocessors. The computer system 1300 may further include graphicsdisplay unit 1310 (e.g., a plasma display panel (PDP), a liquid crystaldisplay (LCD), a projector, or a cathode ray tube (CRT)). The computersystem 1300 may also include alphanumeric input device 1312 (e.g., akeyboard), a cursor control device 1314 (e.g., a mouse, a trackball, ajoystick, a motion sensor, or other pointing instrument), a storage unit1316, a signal generation device 1318 (e.g., a speaker), and a networkinterface device 1320, which also are configured to communicate via thebus 1308.

The storage unit 1316 includes a machine-readable medium 1322 on whichis stored instructions 1324 (e.g., software) embodying any one or moreof the methodologies or functions described herein. The instructions1324 (e.g., software) may also reside, completely or at least partially,within the main memory 1304 or within the processor 1302 (e.g., within aprocessor's cache memory) during execution thereof by the computersystem 1300, the main memory 1304 and the processor 1302 alsoconstituting machine-readable media. The instructions 1324 (e.g.,software) may be transmitted or received over a network 1326 via thenetwork interface device 1320.

While machine-readable medium 1322 is shown in an example embodiment tobe a single medium, the term “machine-readable medium” should be takento include a single medium or multiple media (e.g., a centralized ordistributed database, or associated caches and servers) able to storeinstructions (e.g., instructions 1324). The term “machine-readablemedium” shall also be taken to include any medium that is capable ofstoring instructions (e.g., instructions 1324) for execution by themachine and that cause the machine to perform any one or more of themethodologies disclosed herein. The term “machine-readable medium”includes, but not be limited to, data repositories in the form ofsolid-state memories, optical media, and magnetic media.

As is known in the art, a computer system 1300 can have different and/orother components than those shown in FIG. 13. In addition, the computersystem 1300 can lack certain illustrated components. For example, acomputer system 1300 acting as the emulator 120 may include a hardwareprocessor 1302, a storage unit 1316, a network interface device 1320,and multiple configurable logic circuits (as described above withreference to FIG. 1), among other components, but may lack analphanumeric input device 1312 and a cursor control device 1314.

Additional Configuration Considerations

It is noted that although the subject matter is described in the contextof emulation environment for emulation of digital circuits and systems,the principles described may be applied to analysis of any digitalelectronic devices. Advantages of the disclosed configurations includetransforming signals and digital logic circuits in a form capable ofrepresenting an unknown state. In this manner, an unknown state may bepropagated to other logic circuits, hence improper or unknown operationsof a DUT, for example due to power shut down or improper initialization,may be identified in a computation efficient manner. Moreover, while theexamples herein are in the context of an emulation environment, theprinciples described herein can apply to other analysis of hardwareimplementations of digital circuitries, including FPGA and ASIC orsoftware simulation such as EDAs.

Throughout this specification, plural instances may implementcomponents, operations, or structures described as a single instance.Although individual operations of one or more methods are illustratedand described as separate operations, one or more of the individualoperations may be performed concurrently, and nothing requires that theoperations be performed in the order illustrated. Structures andfunctionality presented as separate components in example configurationsmay be implemented as a combined structure or component. Similarly,structures and functionality presented as a single component may beimplemented as separate components. These and other variations,modifications, additions, and improvements fall within the scope of thesubject matter herein.

Certain embodiments are described herein as including logic or a numberof components, modules, or mechanisms, for example, as illustrated inFIGS. 1-12. Modules may constitute either software modules (e.g., codeembodied on a machine-readable medium or in a transmission signal) orhardware modules. A hardware module is tangible unit capable ofperforming certain operations and may be configured or arranged in acertain manner. In example embodiments, one or more computer systems(e.g., a standalone, client or server computer system) or one or morehardware modules of a computer system (e.g., a processor or a group ofprocessors) may be configured by software (e.g., an application orapplication portion) as a hardware module that operates to performcertain operations as described herein.

In various embodiments, a hardware module may be implementedmechanically or electronically. For example, a hardware module maycomprise dedicated circuitry or logic that is permanently configured(e.g., as a special-purpose processor, such as a field programmable gatearray (FPGA) or an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC)) toperform certain operations. A hardware module may also compriseprogrammable logic or circuitry (e.g., as encompassed within ageneral-purpose processor or other programmable processor) that istemporarily configured by software to perform certain operations. Itwill be appreciated that the decision to implement a hardware modulemechanically, in dedicated and permanently configured circuitry, or intemporarily configured circuitry (e.g., configured by software) may bedriven by cost and time considerations.

The various operations of example methods described herein may beperformed, at least partially, by one or more processors, e.g.,processor 1302, that are temporarily configured (e.g., by software) orpermanently configured to perform the relevant operations. Whethertemporarily or permanently configured, such processors may constituteprocessor-implemented modules that operate to perform one or moreoperations or functions. The modules referred to herein may, in someexample embodiments, comprise processor-implemented modules.

The one or more processors may also operate to support performance ofthe relevant operations in a “cloud computing” environment or as a“software as a service” (SaaS). For example, at least some of theoperations may be performed by a group of computers (as examples ofmachines including processors), these operations being accessible via anetwork (e.g., the Internet) and via one or more appropriate interfaces(e.g., application program interfaces (APIs).)

The performance of certain of the operations may be distributed amongthe one or more processors, not only residing within a single machine,but deployed across a number of machines. In some example embodiments,the one or more processors or processor-implemented modules may belocated in a single geographic location (e.g., within a homeenvironment, an office environment, or a server farm). In other exampleembodiments, the one or more processors or processor-implemented modulesmay be distributed across a number of geographic locations.

Some portions of this specification are presented in terms of algorithmsor symbolic representations of operations on data stored as bits orbinary digital signals within a machine memory (e.g., a computermemory). These algorithms or symbolic representations are examples oftechniques used by those of ordinary skill in the data processing artsto convey the substance of their work to others skilled in the art. Asused herein, an “algorithm” is a self-consistent sequence of operationsor similar processing leading to a desired result. In this context,algorithms and operations involve physical manipulation of physicalquantities. Typically, but not necessarily, such quantities may take theform of electrical, magnetic, or optical signals capable of beingstored, accessed, transferred, combined, compared, or otherwisemanipulated by a machine. It is convenient at times, principally forreasons of common usage, to refer to such signals using words such as“data,” “content,” “bits,” “values,” “elements,” “symbols,”“characters,” “terms,” “numbers,” “numerals,” or the like. These words,however, are merely convenient labels and are to be associated withappropriate physical quantities.

Unless specifically stated otherwise, discussions herein using wordssuch as “processing,” “computing,” “calculating,” “determining,”“presenting,” “displaying,” or the like may refer to actions orprocesses of a machine (e.g., a computer) that manipulates or transformsdata represented as physical (e.g., electronic, magnetic, or optical)quantities within one or more memories (e.g., volatile memory,non-volatile memory, or a combination thereof), registers, or othermachine components that receive, store, transmit, or displayinformation.

As used herein any reference to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment”means that a particular element, feature, structure, or characteristicdescribed in connection with the embodiment is included in at least oneembodiment. The appearances of the phrase “in one embodiment” in variousplaces in the specification are not necessarily all referring to thesame embodiment.

Some embodiments may be described using the expression “coupled” and“connected” along with their derivatives. For example, some embodimentsmay be described using the term “coupled” to indicate that two or moreelements are in direct physical or electrical contact. The term“coupled,” however, may also mean that two or more elements are not indirect contact with each other, but yet still co-operate or interactwith each other. The embodiments are not limited in this context.

As used herein, the terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “includes,”“including,” “has,” “having” or any other variation thereof, areintended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion. For example, a process,method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements is notnecessarily limited to only those elements but may include otherelements not expressly listed or inherent to such process, method,article, or apparatus. Further, unless expressly stated to the contrary,“or” refers to an inclusive or and not to an exclusive or. For example,a condition A or B is satisfied by any one of the following: A is true(or present) and B is false (or not present), A is false (or notpresent) and B is true (or present), and both A and B are true (orpresent).

In addition, use of the “a” or “an” are employed to describe elementsand components of the embodiments herein. This is done merely forconvenience and to give a general sense of the invention. Thisdescription should be read to include one or at least one and thesingular also includes the plural unless it is obvious that it is meantotherwise.

Upon reading this disclosure, those of skill in the art will appreciatestill additional alternative structural and functional designs for asystem and a process for a representation and propagation of unknownstates of signals through the disclosed principles herein. Thus, whileparticular embodiments and applications have been illustrated anddescribed, it is to be understood that the disclosed embodiments are notlimited to the precise construction and components disclosed herein.Various modifications, changes and variations, which will be apparent tothose skilled in the art, may be made in the arrangement, operation anddetails of the method and apparatus disclosed herein without departingfrom the spirit and scope defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A non-transitory computer readable medium storinginstructions for semantic conversion in at least a portion of a designunder test (DUT) for an emulation on an emulation system comprising arepresentation of a digital logic circuit and a representation of amemory device that includes content for storing a state of an inputsignal to be instantiated in a hardware programmable logic on theemulation system, the instructions when executed by a processor causethe processor to: convert, according to at least one conversion rule,the hardware programmable logic from a two state semantic having one ofa high state and a low state using one bit into a four state semantichaving one of the high state, the low state, and unknown states usingtwo bits to generate an output based on the four state semantic, whereinthe representation of the memory device converted into the four statesemantic includes a memory indicator associated with the content and anaddress signal to indicate the content being unknown in response to theinput signal or the address signal being unknown; and during theemulation of the DUT on the emulation system, propagate at least one ofthe unknown states through digital logic of at least the portion of theDUT represented in the four state semantic including the representationof the digital logic circuit converted into the four state semantic andthe representation of the converted memory device.
 2. The non-transitorycomputer readable medium of claim 1, wherein the representation of thedigital logic circuit represented in the two state semantic comprises atleast one of: a representation of Boolean logic, a representation of aflip flop, and a representation of a latch.
 3. The non-transitorycomputer readable medium of claim 2, wherein the representation of theflip flop converted into the four state semantic is operable with aspeculative transition of a reference signal, the speculative transitionincluding a transition of a state of the reference signal from one ofthe unknown states or to one of the unknown states, the representationof the converted flip flop to generate a current state of an output ofthe representation of the converted flip flop based on a state of aninput of the representation of the converted flip flop and a state ofthe output of the representation of the converted flip flop prior to thespeculative transition of the reference signal in response to detectingthe speculative transition of the reference signal.
 4. Thenon-transitory computer readable medium of claim 2, wherein therepresentation of the latch converted into the four state semantic isoperable with a reference signal having one of the unknown states, therepresentation of the converted latch to generate a current state of anoutput of the representation of the converted latch based on a state ofan input of the representation of the converted latch and a state of theoutput of the representation of the converted latch prior to generatingthe output in response to detecting the reference signal having one ofthe unknown states.
 5. The non-transitory computer readable medium ofclaim 1, wherein the representation of the converted memory device isconfigured to bypass storing the input signal in response to the inputsignal or the address being unknown.
 6. The non-transitory computerreadable medium of claim 1, wherein the representation of the convertedmemory device is configured to generate an output signal having one ofthe unknown states for the content associated with the address signalwithout reading the content for performing a memory read operation inresponse to the memory indicator associated with the address signalindicating the content being unknown.
 7. The non-transitory computerreadable medium of claim 1, wherein the instructions when executed bythe processor further cause the processor to: convert, according to atleast one conversion rule, the hardware programmable logic from the twostate semantic into the four state semantic at a gate level.
 8. Thenon-transitory computer readable medium of claim 1, wherein theinstructions when executed by the processor further cause the processorto: propagate, during the emulation of the DUT on the emulation system,the at least one of the unknown states through the digital logic of atleast the portion of the DUT represented in the four state semantic byperforming a digital logic operation using the representation of theconverted digital logic circuit.
 9. The non-transitory computer readablemedium of claim 1, wherein the instructions when executed by theprocessor further cause the processor to: generate, responsive to theinput signal of the representation of the converted memory device or theaddress signal of the representation of the converted memory devicebeing unknown, an output signal of the representation of the convertedmemory device as being unknown for the content; and propagate, duringthe emulation of the DUT on the emulation system, the at least one ofthe unknown states through the digital logic of at least the portion ofthe DUT represented in the four state semantic by performing a digitallogic operation using the representation of the converted digital logiccircuit according to the output signal of the representation of theconverted memory device.
 10. The non-transitory computer readable mediumof claim 1, wherein one of the unknown states is an unassigned state.11. A computer implemented method for semantic conversion in at least aportion of a design under test (DUT) for an emulation on an emulationsystem comprising a representation of a digital logic circuit and arepresentation of a memory device that includes content for storing astate of an input signal to be instantiated in a hardware programmablelogic on the emulation system, the method comprising: converting,according to at least one conversion rule, the hardware programmablelogic from a two state semantic having one of a high state and a lowstate using one bit into a four state semantic having one of the highstate, the low state, and unknown states using two bits to generate anoutput based on the four state semantic, wherein the representation ofthe memory device converted into the four state semantic includes amemory indicator associated with the content and an address signal toindicate the content being unknown in response to the input signal orthe address signal being unknown; and during the emulation of the DUT onthe emulation system, propagating at least one of the unknown statesthrough digital logic of at least the portion of the DUT represented inthe four state semantic including the representation of the digitallogic circuit converted into the four state semantic and therepresentation of the converted memory device.
 12. The method of claim11, wherein the representation of the digital logic circuit representedin the two state semantic comprises at least one of: a representation ofBoolean logic, a representation of a flip flop, and a representation ofa latch.
 13. The method of claim 12, wherein the representation of theflip flop converted into the four state semantic is operable with aspeculative transition of a reference signal, the speculative transitionincluding a transition of a state of the reference signal from one ofthe unknown states or to one of the unknown states, the representationof the converted flip flop to generate a current state of an output ofthe representation of the converted flip flop based on a state of aninput of the representation of the converted flip flop and a state ofthe output of the representation of the converted flip flop prior to thespeculative transition of the reference signal in response to detectingthe speculative transition of the reference signal.
 14. The method ofclaim 12, wherein the representation of the latch converted into thefour state semantic is operable with a reference signal having one ofthe unknown states, the representation of the converted latch togenerate a current state of an output of the representation of theconverted latch based on a state of an input of the representation ofthe converted latch and a state of the output of the representation ofthe converted latch prior to generating the output in response todetecting the reference signal having one of the unknown states.
 15. Themethod of claim 11, further comprising: bypassing storing the inputsignal in response to the input signal or the address signal beingunknown.
 16. The method of claim 11, further comprising: generating anoutput signal having one of the unknown states for the contentassociated with the address signal without reading the content forperforming a memory read operation in response to the memory indicatorassociated with the address signal indicating the content being unknown.17. The method of claim 11, further comprising: converting, according toat least one conversion rule, the hardware programmable logic from thetwo state semantic into the four state semantic at a gate level.
 18. Themethod of claim 11, further comprising: propagating, during theemulation of the DUT on the emulation system, the at least one of theunknown states through the digital logic of at least the portion of theDUT represented in the four state semantic by performing a digital logicoperation using the representation of the converted digital logiccircuit.
 19. The method of claim 11, further comprising: generating,responsive to the input signal of the representation of the convertedmemory device or the address signal of the representation of theconverted memory device being unknown, an output signal of therepresentation of the converted memory device as being unknown for thecontent; and propagating, during the emulation of the DUT on theemulation system, the at least one of the unknown states through thedigital logic of at least the portion of the DUT represented in the fourstate semantic by performing a digital logic operation using therepresentation of the converted digital logic circuit according to theoutput signal of the representation of the converted memory device. 20.The method of claim 11, wherein one of the unknown states is anunassigned state.